Attempt To Recall

The next morning, I felt significantly better than the previous day, but it seemed like I had overslept. I fell asleep at 6 PM and didn’t wake up until the next day during lunch time. Apparently, my brain needed extra time to process all the information from yesterday. I wondered if my mom had figured out anything yet.
I headed downstairs and noticed food on the table. Both of my parents must have gone to work already. I sat down and ate slowly, my thoughts still swirling with the events from the previous day. After finishing my meal, I decided to check the lab.
As I entered the lab, I put on my lab coat and eye protection, preparing for another round of experiments. But then I noticed something unexpected—my mother was sleeping at her desk. She’s still here? I walked over and placed my palm gently on her forehead.
"It’s warm..." I whispered to myself. Was she running a fever? There was no way I could carry her to her room, but I also couldn’t work in the lab without waking her up with the noise from the machines. I quietly left the lab, grabbed a pillow and blanket, and returned. Carefully, I lifted her head and slid the pillow beneath it. Then I draped the blanket over her.
“Looks like I’m cooking tonight.” I whispered softly with a small smile.
As I was about to leave the lab, my mother stirred, her voice hoarse as she called out, "Rui, wait."
"You’re awake?" I asked, surprised. "I'm glad." I moved closer, but then, suddenly, she stood up and grabbed me by the shoulders, her grip tight and urgent.
"How are you still alive?" she demanded, her tone sharp and filled with disbelief.
“H-Huh?” I stammered, completely caught off guard. I had no idea what she was talking about. But just as quickly, she let go of me, collapsing to the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice filled with regret. “I managed to contact the past… and it’s the real deal.”
“For r-real?” I asked, still shaken by her sudden shift in mood. “Wait, is this… is this the aftereffect of the call?”
"Yes. But what I don’t understand is how you’re still standing after the call. The one I made lasted only two seconds, and it caused all this." She gestured weakly to herself. "If your call lasted even a minute, you could’ve triggered hundreds of mini 1000-year butterfly effects, which should’ve—at least in theory—fried your brain.”
“M-Maybe you created something bigger in those two seconds,” I suggested, trying to process everything she was saying.
“I freaked out and disconnected almost immediately. There’s no way. But maybe… there’s something special about your brain that we haven’t figured out yet.” She looked exhausted, her words barely holding together. "I want to sleep so badly, but before I do… I need you to call that number again. Have a conversation with him. Got it?"
It took me a second to process what she was asking, but finally, I nodded. “I get it.”
We both approached my phone, still connected to numerous cables and machines. I hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of what I was about to do. With a deep breath, I picked up the phone and dialed the number again. My fingers shook slightly as I pressed ‘call.’ I glanced at my mother, and she nodded, giving me a silent push of encouragement.
The phone rang. We stood there, waiting, tension filling the air. Then, the line clicked, and someone picked up.
“H-Hello?” I stammered, nerves creeping into my voice.
“Oh, it’s person number one again,” the guy on the other end said casually.
“Yeah, uhm—” I started, but he cut me off.
“Let me ask you something,” he interrupted, his tone suddenly serious. “You’ve got no caller ID, no records of this number saved in my phone, and I never wrote down anything. So, who are you? And how the hell are you calling me?”
I paused, thinking about how to respond. Then, deciding I had nothing to lose, I told him the truth. “This might sound crazy,” I began, “but I’m calling from the year 2998. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I somehow made it happen.”
“So, it’s true,” the guy said, his voice softening. “Well, genius, you’ve got my attention! I want to help you figure out the theory behind time travel. Let’s be friends.” His tone grew louder, filled with excitement. “In return, I’ll do what I can to help you deal with your future war problems.”
My eyes widened. How did he know about the war? “Wait, how do you know about the war?” I asked, bewildered.
“One of you—maybe it was you, maybe it wasn’t—mentioned a Human-AI war. And since there’s no way for me to trace your call or find your number, I figured you must be from the future. The past wouldn’t make any sense.”
“I see...” I muttered, still processing.
“So, friend, do we have a deal?” he asked enthusiastically.
I looked over at my mother again. She nodded, urging me to go ahead.
“It’s a deal,” I said.
“Wonderful! That’s what I like to hear!” the guy replied, sounding thrilled. “My name’s Gaku—Hoshino Gaku. Nice to meet you!”
“I-I’m Rui. Ohashi Rui,” I replied, still reeling from everything that was happening. “Uh, my phone’s overheating, so I’ll need to disconnect now.”
“Alright, bye!” Gaku said, his voice cheerful.
As soon as I hung up, I turned to hug my mother tightly, knowing the consequences of this were uncertain, but somehow feeling like I needed the comfort. And then, it started. The world around me warped and glitched, reality bending in on itself. My head exploded with pain, but I pushed through it, trying to endure. The feeling intensified until it became unbearable.
Then, everything stopped.
I collapsed to the floor, the pain overwhelming me. The lab was empty, eerily silent. I tried to get up, but my body refused to cooperate. I felt blood dripping from my nose, my ears, even my eyes. My vision blurred. I barely registered the severity of it before everything went black, and I passed out.

***

I woke up in a bright, white room. I felt a strange, familiar sensation beneath me. Ugh, I’m on a floating bed. I hate these kinds of beds. I don't get how people can enjoy them. It’s the high-tech future, and apparently, everyone’s supposed to love floating beds, but not me!
Well, at least I’m alive.
I tried to sit up, but my body still felt too weak to cooperate. My head was almost completely wrapped in bandages. I glanced out the window and saw the sun rising—or at least, I thought it was the sun.
In reality, the ‘sun’ was just a simulation. Ever since a war broke out over 300 years ago, our entire country has been confined to this isolated base, a massive dome we now call home. The sky we see? Fake. There aren’t even trees anymore. Machines here take care of converting CO2 into fresh air. The whole dome is powered by nuclear waste from the outside world. That waste is also the reason we can’t leave—the levels are too high, making the surface uninhabitable.
Astronauts are still out there, exploring space, trying to find us a new home. But until then, we’re stuck. The worst part? The AI robots that we’re at war with don’t get affected by nuclear waste at all, giving them a huge advantage over us.
I haven’t studied enough history to know exactly what sparked the nuclear war, but it doesn’t really matter now. All I know is we’re trapped in this dome, and they’re out there, thriving in what’s left of the wasteland.
How far back in time would I need to go to change things? To make sure we avoid all this? Maybe, just maybe, contacting someone from 1000 years in the past wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I’ll just have to keep trying.
Not long after, my mother came into the room, her face full of worry.
"Rui, are you okay?!" she asked, her voice trembling with concern.
"I'm fine," I replied, trying to sound confident, even though I knew very well that I wasn’t. "Any progress on the time travel thing?"
"Forget that," she snapped, cutting me off. "You were in a coma for two days!"
"Two days...?" I muttered, shocked by how much that call had affected me. "Was it really that bad?"
"In every possible way," my mother said, her voice softening. "I'm sorry I forced you. I’m never letting you near time travel again."
"Wait, what? I need time travel!" I protested.
"You’re going to kill yourself if you keep using that thing!" she shot back.
"I refuse to be just another cog in this society!" I countered. "I’ll keep time traveling until I create a happy future."
"No, you won’t! You’ll find another way!" she insisted, but her tone was wavering.
"I’m going to get used to the pain, and I’m going to keep trying," I said, my determination unshakable. "I’ll keep going until I make the best future."
My mother looked down, defeated, unsure of how to argue with me any further.
"Fine," she finally sighed. "But please, be careful."
"I will," I promised.
She gave a small, tired smile before leaving, likely heading off to work. This is exhausting, but I have to keep going. I hope I can win this battle.

To be continued…